DR Congo Mission Chief says Humanitarian Disaster ‘Unfolding before Our Very Eyes’

UNITED NATIONS: Insecurity in the volatile eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has worsened since the end of recent elections, UN Special Representative Bintou Keita has told the Security Council. 

Ms. Keita, who also heads the UN peacekeeping mission in the country, MONUSCO, sounded the alarm over the humanitarian disaster “unfolding before our very eyes”.

More than seven million people in the country are displaced, particularly due to the operations of armed groups such as the M23 and the Allied Defense Forces (ADF) across the eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri. 

“As this Council has regularly reiterated, echoed by a recent statement of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union, all foreign forces illegally operating on DRC’s territory need to withdraw, and national and foreign armed groups, such as the ADF and FDLR, need to be disarmed,” she said.   

Ms. Keita presented the latest MONUSCO report, which covers political, security, human rights and humanitarian developments in the DRC over the past three months.

She said the presidential, national, and provincial legislative elections held in December were largely peaceful, despite major logistical challenges.

President Félix Tshisekedi secured a second term in office and announced that reform of the security and defense sector would be one of his main priorities. Negotiations around the formation of a new government are underway.

Tensions and atrocities

However, the security situation in the east deteriorated further following December’s polls, she said, with the M23 making significant advances and expanding its territory to unprecedented levels. This has resulted in an even more disastrous humanitarian situation, with internal displacement reaching unparalleled numbers.

The reporting period also saw Angola mediating in the wake of regional tensions between the DRC and Rwanda, and the start of the deployment of the Southern Africa Mission to the DRC (SAMIDRC) to North Kivu.

Although the M23 crisis has drawn a great deal of attention, Ms. Keita highlighted atrocities committed by other groups, such as ADF, particularly on the border between North Kivu and Ituri.

Almost 200 people have been killed there since the beginning of the year, she said, noting that insecurity in Ituri is fueled by the actions of four militias – CODECO, Zaire, FRPI and FPIC – as well as the ADF.

South Kivu has also seen a resurgence of tensions, driven by armed groups and inter-community rivalry. Frequent rumours about the presence of M23 elements, and the extension of the conflict from North Kivu towards the south, have further compounded the situation.

An escalation of tensions between Rwanda and Burundi, which led to the closing of their border by the Burundian authorities, was another issue that could lead to destabilization of the province and the region as a whole, she added.

Protecting civilians

To protect civilians, MONUSCO and the Congolese army have continued joint operations in Ituri and North Kivu, and strengthened a defensive operation known as “Springbok” in efforts to protect areas in the vicinity of Goma, the North Kivu capital, and nearby Sake.

Ms. Keita said UN peacekeepers have come under direct and indirect fire “almost on a daily basis”. Recently, mortar fire from M23-occupied positions landed on MONUSCO bases in Sake, wounding eight peacekeepers and six civilian staff, which she condemned. 

The M23 also managed to occupy all former positions held by East African forces, which withdrew completely in January after more than a year in place, allowing the group to move further south to encircle Goma and Sake.

In the meantime, deployment of SAMIDRC continues and troops have begun providing assistance to the Congolese forces.